The Prisoners’ Education Trust (PET) has released a new toolkit that aims to drive active citizenship in prisons through the Prisoners’ Active Citizenship project funded by Erasmus+. PET defines active citizenship as ‘the action of engaging in issues, ideas, people and communities’ and states that it can help prisoners to re-enter society and gain a sense of purpose.

The publication of Citizens inside: A guide to creating active participation in prisons follows test-runs of multiple participation models in European prisons, but is also part-based on findings from the Prisoners’ Active Citizenship: An insight in European prisons report which considers current active citizenship practices in European prisoners. The report can also be accessed on PET’s website. It is possible to download a printable copy of the toolkit and also activity worksheets that put learning to use.

Project partners include organisations in the Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia, Italy and the UK. The resource has been designed to be used by a wide range of people, including prisoners, prison staff, education staff and anyone in prison management. It can also be used by organisations involved in the prison voluntary sector.

The toolkit is split into sections that consider the meaning and benefits of engaging with active citizenship, establishing and putting into action a strategy for driving active citizenship in prisons and considering challenges that might be faced along the way. There is also guidance towards further reading on the topic and references used to help compile the toolkit.

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